And he had Ren pressed against a wall, his hand around the boy’s throat.
17
Iwas out of the van before Eric had even killed the engine, my stiletto in my hand. I lifted it, saw I had a clear shot to Quiric’s eye, and snapped my wrist to send my blade flying.
“No!” Eliza leaped forward, knocking Quiric and Ren to the ground as my stiletto smashed with athwangagainst the brick wall.
“What the hell?” I called out at the same time that Marcus shouted, “We’re training! Just training!”
I stopped cold, realizing the mistake I’d almost made. “Teaching moment,” I muttered, making a mental note to turn this into class material. But later.
Right now I was just irritated.
“Explain,” I demanded as they stood up, brushing themselves off. Eric had reached me, and didn’t look any happier than I felt. “You’re here to get information. About my daughter. Who’s missing. Not play tackle with a demon.”
Eliza grimaced. “Sorry. Truly. He doesn’t know anything else about Celia’s location.” She looked between me and Eric. “I believe him. And then—”
Quiric held up a hand, cutting her off. “There is urgency in your eyes. Why do you seek me?”
“Information. Can a High Demon hide a fragment of their essence inside the host of another demon?”
He frowned, his forehead furrowing. I studied him, trying to decide if this response was an act. Or if perhaps Lilith was controlling him. And if so, was he even aware she was in there?
It would be just like Lilith to hide inside a demon who reviled her.
“You believe that Lilith has done this thing? Hidden her essence within one of my kind?”
“It’s just a theory. But it’s a strong one.”
“I do not have the answer you seek.”
I nodded slowly, then looked at the others, all of whom were watching me quizzically. All except Eric. We’d worked together for too long. He knew how I thought. “How about this, then? If we find her, will you fight with us?”
“It is one thing to provide you information regarding such an exalted High Demon. It is quite another to actively defy her.”
“You understand, that if we’re right—if she has hidden her essence in this realm—it means she is trying to become corporeal. You say she is looking for Solomon’s Stone. It doesn’t exist anymore, but if there is one ritual, there may be another. And if she completes that ritual, she will walk this earth, and you and your allies will be subjugated to her.”
“I understood that you intended to stop her.”
“That’s the plan. But I never said we wouldn’t need help. We need it. She really is trying to become corporeal. She’s taken my daughter, and she intends to use a ritual to manifest inside Allie. She failed once. She is going to do her very best to not fail again.”
Everything I was saying was true, and even as I spoke, panic rose inside me.Allie. All our thinking and searching, and we still weren’t closer to saving her.
I lifted my chin, forcing myself to focus only on the moment. “Yes, I will fight her. But do you really want to stand there and let a human fight your battles?”
“Do not play mind games with a demon, Katherine Crowe.”
I ignored his taunt with my former name. “No games. I mean what I say. We need help.”
I took a step closer. “You once told me that you don’t want to be subjugated to her. We both know that you would be if she is able to become both corporeal and fully empowered. There’s never been a demon like that,” I said. “A High Demon in the flesh without leaving a part of their demonic essence behind. She would rule on earth. We both know it.”
“What you say is true. If Lilith is able to manage this thing, it will be different than anything we have seen before. And she will usher in a new age for my kind that I do not wish to see.”
“So will you help?”
“I cannot. You should understand these things better, Hunter. I cannot go against Lilith.”
“Is that because Lilith is inside you?”
